Undersea Cable Protection Act of 2025

Enumerated powers · passes

The bill operates within Congress's authority under the Property Clause (Article IV, Section 3, Clause 2) to regulate federal property, including national marine sanctuaries. It does not exceed this power; rather, it limits the Commerce Department's discretion to impose additional permit requirements, which is a permissible exercise of Congress's power to define the scope of federal agency action.

Bill of Rights · passes

The bill does not restrict speech, religion, assembly, press, petition, arms, quartering, search and seizure, self-incrimination, due process, fair trial, jury, cruel and unusual punishment, or any other right protected by the Bill of Rights. It solely concerns administrative permitting procedures for undersea cables.

Individual liberty · passes

The bill does not restrict any individual's control over their person, property, speech, labor, or belief. It addresses government-to-government and government-to-business permitting processes, leaving private actors free to engage in cable activities under existing state or federal permits.

Decentralization · passes

The bill passes all four decentralization questions. (1) An individual or family could not handle undersea cable installation alone, but that is not the relevant test for a federal property management bill. (2) Local communities and counties could not manage national marine sanctuaries, which are federal property. (3) States can and do issue permits for cable activities, and this bill respects those state permits by preventing the federal government from adding redundant requirements. (4) The bill does not consolidate decision-making upward; it actually prevents federal overreach and respects state-issued permits, thereby decentralizing authority.

Due process and takings · passes

The bill does not bypass due process or take property without just compensation. It preserves existing permit processes and does not deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without fair notice or hearing. No takings issue arises because the bill does not authorize the government to take private property.